But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, .Give us a king to govern us.. Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7 and the Lord said to Samuel, .Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 Just as they have done to me,[a] from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; only.you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, .These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle[b] and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.
1 Samuel 8:6-18
What is God concerned with?
What is Samuel concerned with?
What does God tell Samuel to report?
What does Samuel actually report?
Samuel's kids were bad, just like Eli's before him. Eli lost his Judgeship/power and died a pretty bad death. How do you think this is playing out in Samuel's mind?
The author's voice sneaks out in "from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods," what does this tell you about the author? Agenda? Providing reason for the exile (judgement against Judea for breaking the covenant)?
If you are Samuel and put those words into God's mouth, who do you pick to be king? See 9:1-2 and the description of Saul and his background/apperance. Set the king up to be exactly the kind of person you need him to be to keep the power in the hands of the judges.